Journal of Operations Management Call for Papers Special Issue: Implementing Operations Strategy for Competitive Advantage Editors:

William Youngdahl (Thunderbird School of Global Management) Kannan Ramaswamy (Thunderbird School of Global Management) Daniel Krause (Colorado State University) How do we identify, promote, and implement strategic initiatives that put into place operational capabilities that provide new sources of firm-level competitive advantage? The special issue editors seek innovative manuscripts that address this research question. Operations scholars (for example, Hayes and Wheelwright) have asserted that strategic deployment of operations capabilities can provide new sources of firm-level competitive advantage. Similarly, strategy scholars, especially those with resource-based views, have long asserted that competitive advantage depends largely on thoughtful deployment of strategic capabilities. Please note that the focus on operations includes operations management and complementary disciplines such as supply chain management, industrial engineering, and project management. Anecdotal evidence supports these scholarly viewpoints. For example, leading companies such as Haier, Foxconn and others in China have brought to bear significant operations skills in fast product prototyping and flexible manufacturing to gain significant advantage over established rivals in consumer electronics and white goods. In the US, Southwest Airlines serves as an exemplar of how operations strategy can lead to firm-level competitive advantage. By examining how well-selected and wellimplemented operations strategies can enhance firm-level competitive advantage, we have an opportunity to work across disciplines at the practical intersection of operations management and strategy. Therefore, preference will be given to submissions that integrate perspectives from operations management and strategy disciplines. Specific objectives of the special issue include (1) encouraging multidisciplinary research on the strategic implementation of operations capabilities for firm-level competitive advantage, (2) creating foundational research from which future interdisciplinary research can be conducted, and (3) providing insights and advice to operations management practitioners to enable more strategic perspectives in the selection and implementation of operations capabilities. The following list of potential topics is provided to stimulate ideas for topics. Authors are not restricted to this list, but submissions must provide relevant and practical insights framed by the research question listed at the beginning of this document. Determining which operational capabilities will provide sources of competitive advantage Influencing upward to sell operational capabilities as new sources of competitive advantage Applying project and change management best practices to the implementation of operations strategies that provide new sources of competitive advantage Leveraging offshore operations strategies for competitive advantage Bridging strategy and operations management to create a collective view of capabilitybased strategy

 Assessing the impact of operations strategy on competitive position Given the exploratory and applied nature of this special issue, appropriate methodologies include wellgrounded conceptual papers, case-studies, empirical research, and empirically tested modeling approaches. Please submit your JOM-formatted manuscript directly to jom.specialissue@thunderbird.edu between January 21, 2013 and February 11, 2013. This submission window will facilitate initial assessment of the absolute and relative merit of submissions and concentrate focused attention on the reviewing and editorial processes. The approach also provides time for researchers to form an interdisciplinary team to start a new project that will best conform to this special issue. All submissions will go through an initial screening. Those selected for further consideration will undergo a double-blind review process with multiple reviewers. The special issue editors will make recommendations to the JOM Editors-in-Chief who will make the final determinations. Special Issue Editors William Youngdahl William Youngdahl is an associate professor of project and operations leadership at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. His research has appeared numerous times in the Journal of Operations Management as well as other noteworthy journals including Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, and IEE Transactions. Youngdahl also served as a Journal of Operations Management Associate Editor and as a guest editor for two special issues. Kannan Ramaswamy Kannan Ramaswamy holds the William D. Hacker Chair of Management in the Department of Global Business at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. His research has appeared in distinguished journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, and Academy of Management Journal. He currently serves on the Board of Reviewers of the Asia Pacific Journal of Management and the Editorial Board of the Journal of International Management. He also served as a guest editor of a special issue of the Journal of Operations Management. Daniel Krause Daniel Krause is a Professor (Operations and Supply Chain Management) in the College of Business at Colorado State University. His research interests include inter-organizational relationships, supplier development, supplier involvement in new product development, and sustainability efforts in supply chains. His publications have appeared in distinguished journals including Sloan Management Review, Decision Sciences, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, and the International Journal of Production Research. Krause serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Supply Chain Management.